Linden Lab explained yesterday that it was contacted last week by ARD, which presented footage of an adult and child avatar "engaged in depicted sexual conduct." The virtual-world maker assured readers of its blog that both participants were adults, and were "immediately banned from Second Life." Apparently, an ARD reporter also found pictures inside the virtual world described as "sexual photographs involving a child," and ARD reportedly handed over the images to German authorities. Linden Lab's requests for the location of the photos in-world have not been responded to, according to the company's blog.

Linden Lab asserted yesterday that it has a "zero tolerance" policy for depictions of child pornography within its virtual world, stating that it is "exceedingly rare" to receive reports of such depictions, and that it has "immediately removed" such depictions when informed about them. Presumably that means depictions of child porn are exceedingly rarely removed, even though Second Life's so-called "age play" scene--which involves non-sexual as well as sexual role-play ostensibly among consenting adults--has been discussed in the mainstream media for at least a year.

Daniel Terdiman, a CNET News.com reporter who reported on the "age play" scene last year, indicated in an interview that Linden Lab approached him about the subject prior to the story being published. According to Terdiman, the company encouraged him to speak directly with residents involved in "age play," which in my opinion suggests Linden Lab wasn't greatly concerned about the issue at the time. What a difference a year makes. Yesterday, Linden Lab stated "We simply will not tolerate the depiction of sexual or lewd acts involving minors in Second Life."

Linden Lab promised yesterday to drop the hammer on those involved in "the depiction of sexual or lewd acts involving minors," promising to terminate accounts and "fully cooperate with all appropriate authorities." Furthermore, the company said that if real-world child porn is discovered in the possession of users, it would terminate the accounts and provide personal details to real-world authorities (a long-standing policy, according to Linden Lab).

Despite its strong words, I don't believe that Linden Lab actively or consistently polices Second Life--the virtual world is just too big. Instead, the company employs a system of "Abuse Reports," whereby users of the virtual world file complaints about such things as harassment, litter, "adult" content, and trademark infringement. Through a pending "Estate Level Governance" program, Abuse Reports will actually be sent to virtual land owners rather than Linden Lab, distancing the company further from what goes on inside Second Life. In a recent announcement about an identity-verification policy, the company appeared to alleviate itself completely of legal responsibility, stating that users "are morally and legally responsible for the content displayed and the behavior taking place on their land."

Unfortunately, a vast majority of Second Life users don't have the means to watch over their virtual land around the clock. Without constant supervision, it's practically impossible to stop illegal acts from transpiring on one's virtual land. The way I see it, Linden Lab can't effectively police Second Life, but neither can its customers. Who, then, is truly responsible for such acts as depictions or possession of child pornography in Second Life?

In my investigations of Gor, I have not seen any child avatars. The Sim rules that allow for child avatars clearly state that there are to be no sexual activities wtih child avatars.

Now, if you are making a distinction between pre-teen and late teen, that's something different. All of the slaves look young and pretty,much like most of SL, but I've never seen one that looks less than 18.

1. No governtmental entity is investigating the Goreans on a society harm basis, ie, objectification of women.

2. The only copyright holder investigation of the Goreans regards previously reported instances of wholesale copying of the John Norman books. On some Gorean Sims, it was possible to get entire copies of the novels on notecards.

3. The copyright holder is not investigating any further derivative copyright violation, such as roleplay or the slave trade. (Posted about previously on SL Herald.)

4. No government agency is known to be investigating the Goreans for copyright infringement.

And I realize that the Goreans are offensive to some people in SL. Someone named Prok taught me that.